How long does a South Carolina medical license take?

The board publishes no processing time for a physician license, and South Carolina law sets no general deadline for deciding one. FSMB, not the board, says it typically processes an initial FCVS application within roughly 35 days and a subsequent one within roughly 20 days or less, and the board’s instructions give an application one year from receipt before an incomplete file starts over, fee included. Near the end, the board may issue a temporary license while final verifications are outstanding, valid for three months or more as it approves.

How much does a South Carolina medical license cost?

$935 for an MD in published fees: the $500 application fee, a $395 FCVS profile, and the AMA’s $40 physician profile. A DO pays $895 to $935, depending on the profile sent: the AOA’s, free to AOA members and $25 otherwise, or the AMA’s at $40. With an FCVS profile already on file, the FCVS fee is $99 instead of $395. The unpublished fingerprint fee and verifications from your other boards come on top, and the license renews for $140 every two years.

Is South Carolina in the IMLC?

No. South Carolina has not enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, and the legislature’s records show no compact bill in its 2021 to 2026 sessions; in the 2019-2020 session, H. 3101 passed the House 105 to 1 in 2019 and got no further than a Senate committee. Every South Carolina license is a direct application, even for physicians whose other licenses came through the compact, and a South Carolina license cannot be your state of principal license, although North Carolina and Georgia both issue licenses through the compact.

Can I get a South Carolina license by endorsement or reciprocity?

No. LLR reports that the board accepts neither endorsement nor reciprocity, so a physician licensed in other states files the same permanent-license application as everyone else, with an FCVS profile and verification from every board that has licensed you. State law lets the board adopt endorsement rules, but it has none: the article of its rules titled for endorsement holds only a fee cap.

Do I need a South Carolina license to treat South Carolina patients by telehealth?

Yes. State law requires a South Carolina license, though not South Carolina residence, for telemedicine with patients in South Carolina, and there is no telehealth registration. The exceptions are narrow: an informal consultation or second opinion requested by a South Carolina physician who keeps responsibility for the patient, and care between in-person visits under an existing treatment plan for specialty care begun in person in another state, which excludes episodic care, new conditions, and long stretches without an in-person visit. The board’s policy also requires a South Carolina license for an out-of-state radiologist or pathologist making a primary diagnosis for a patient in South Carolina.

Is FCVS required in South Carolina?

Yes. State law requires primary-source verification of your identity, education, training, exam history, and disciplinary history through a credentials verification organization the board approves, and the board’s instructions name FCVS. A first profile costs $395, USMLE transcripts included, and an existing one $99; FSMB says it typically processes an initial application within roughly 35 days.

Will I have to take SPEX or COMVEX for a South Carolina license?

Only if nothing qualifying falls within ten years of your application. South Carolina requires SPEX (MDs, $1,400) or COMVEX (DOs, $750) unless, within ten years of filing a complete application, you passed a licensing exam the law lists or a specialty certification, recertification, or added-qualification exam, or, with a certification that is not time-limited, completed 150 Category I CME hours in the past three years. Since March 9, 2026, state law lets the board waive the exam if it finds you have the general medical knowledge to practice competently, and the board heard waiver requests at its May 2026 meeting.

Do MDs and DOs apply differently in South Carolina?

Barely. One board licenses both through the same application, the same $500 fee, and the same FCVS requirement. COMLEX-USA scores reach FCVS from NBOME rather than FSMB, the board accepts the AOA’s physician profile, free to AOA members and $25 otherwise, as well as the AMA’s $40 one, and DOs face COMVEX rather than SPEX if the ten-year rule applies.

What does staying licensed in South Carolina involve?

Renewal every two years by June 30 of odd-numbered years, $140; 40 Category I CME hours or another listed option each cycle, with 2 hours on controlled substances on the board’s renewal form and nothing due at the first renewal; a South Carolina controlled substances registration renewed every year, $125 for the first; a SCRIPTS review before Schedule II prescriptions; electronic prescribing of controlled substances; and a separate $888 DEA registration for South Carolina.

South Carolina physician license: fees, timeline, requirements, and common delays

Q: Does South Carolina require fingerprints or a jurisprudence exam?

Fingerprints yes, jurisprudence exam no. Every applicant needs state and FBI fingerprint checks, at a cost the board, LLR, and SLED do not publish, and the board sends fingerprint instructions only after it receives your application; prints submitted earlier are rejected and must be redone. South Carolina has no jurisprudence exam for MDs or DOs.

South Carolina licenses MD and DO physicians through one board, the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, and the permanent license is the only route to a full license: South Carolina has not joined the IMLC and offers no endorsement or reciprocity. Published fees come to $935 for an MD, the $500 application fee plus a $395 FCVS profile and a $40 AMA physician profile, and $895 to $935 for a DO, depending on the profile sent, plus an unpublished fingerprint fee. The board publishes no processing time. The friction is verification: state law requires an FCVS profile, every board that has licensed you verifies directly, and a file still incomplete a year after receipt starts over, fee included.

South Carolina at a glance.

License: Permanent license (MD or DO), renewed every two years
MD and DO: One board, one application and one fee for both
IMLC: Not a member. No compact law, and no compact bill in the legislature’s 2021 to 2026 sessions
FCVS: Required by state law for every permanent-license applicant
Uniform Application: Not used
Fingerprints: Required: state and FBI checks, on instructions the board sends after you apply
Jurisprudence exam: None
Interview: Not routine; no law or rule requires one, though a few applicants appear at board meetings
Board fee: $500 application fee, nonrefundable
Renewal: Every two years, by June 30 of odd-numbered years: $140
CME: 40 Category I hours every two years, or another listed option; none at the first renewal

Which route fits.

MDs and DOs file with one board for the same permanent license, on the same application and at the same $500 fee. South Carolina has no compact, endorsement, or reciprocity route and no telehealth registration: treating patients located in South Carolina, in person or by telemedicine, takes a South Carolina license, though you need not live there, and the board’s policy says the same of an out-of-state radiologist or pathologist making a primary diagnosis for a patient in South Carolina. The exceptions are narrow, such as an informal consultation or second opinion requested by a South Carolina physician who keeps responsibility for the patient.

The permanent license.

Who it fits: Every MD or DO who wants a full South Carolina license, whether or not you hold licenses elsewhere: it is the only full-license route, for US, Canadian, and international graduates alike.
The trade-off: Every credential is verified at its source: state law requires an FCVS profile, every board that has ever licensed you verifies directly, and the board must receive an AMA or AOA physician profile. Fees run $935 for an MD and $895 to $935 for a DO, plus an unpublished fingerprint fee; the board publishes no processing time, and a file still incomplete one year after receipt starts over, fee included.

Licensing board: South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners.

The IMLC.

Who it fits: No one, for South Carolina. The state has not enacted the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, and the legislature’s records show no compact bill in its 2021 to 2026 sessions, although both neighbors, North Carolina and Georgia, issue licenses through it.
The trade-off: Licenses issued through the compact elsewhere do not reach South Carolina, and a South Carolina license cannot be your state of principal license for adding member states. If your other licenses came through the compact, South Carolina is a separate permanent-license application, FCVS profile included.

A temporary license.

Who it fits: Permanent-license applicants who have met every requirement except final verifications. State law lets the board issue one, valid for three months or more as the board approves, and consider renewing it.
The trade-off: It covers only the last verifications of a permanent-license file and never replaces one. The board publishes no issuance fee, and an extension costs $75.

The 14-day limited license.

Who it fits: Physicians licensed in another state who come to South Carolina for supervised training involving direct patient care, or to explore a job, for up to 14 days at a time and no more than four times a year. The board’s policy puts visiting physicians who teach or learn by taking part in a specific patient’s care here too; observing alone needs no license.
The trade-off: $70, and narrow: practice must be supervised, with documentation from your supervising physician on the purpose and dates, so it is no substitute for the permanent license if you will practice on your own.

What it costs.

MD permanent license
Application fee	$500
FCVS profile, required, USMLE transcripts included	$395, or $99 for an existing profile
AMA physician profile, sent to the board	$40
State and FBI fingerprint checks	Not published
All-in	$935, or $639 with an existing FCVS profile, plus the unpublished fingerprint fee
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

DO permanent license
Application fee	$500
FCVS profile, required	$395, or $99 for an existing profile
AOA or AMA physician profile, sent to the board	$0 to $40
State and FBI fingerprint checks	Not published
All-in	$895 to $935, or $599 to $639 with an existing FCVS profile, plus the unpublished fingerprint fee
Our service fee	Quoted with your plan

The $500 goes to the Board of Medical Examiners with the application; state law and the board make it nonrefundable, and the board does not process an application without it. MDs and DOs pay the same fee. FCVS fees go to FSMB, which forwards an existing profile for $99, and the profile fee goes to the AMA, $40 for every request, or to the AOA, free to AOA members and $25 for nonmembers, which the AOA does not refund. State law puts the cost of the fingerprint checks on you, but neither the board, LLR, nor SLED publishes the amount.

Left out of every total: verifications from every board that has ever licensed you, in any medical profession and whether the license is active or not, at each board’s own fee; school transcripts, only if your FCVS profile lacks them; the notary’s fee for your lawful presence affidavit and a passport-type photo; for DOs, NBOME’s $65 COMLEX-USA transcript, if the FCVS invoice adds it, which FSMB does not make clear; SPEX ($1,400, to FSMB) or COMVEX ($750, to NBOME), only if no qualifying exam or certification falls within ten years of your application and the board grants no waiver; and, for international graduates, ECFMG’s one-time $75 education verification and its $70 status report for each board, both billed through FCVS. After licensure come the $140 renewal every two years, a South Carolina controlled substances registration renewed each year ($125 for the first), and the $888 DEA registration for three years.

Fees change; verified November 11, 2026.

How long it takes.

1 yearLife of an applicationThe board’s instructions say an application is good for one year from the date of receipt; a file still incomplete after that starts over from the beginning, application fee, transcripts, and license verifications included.Board-published
QuarterlyBoard meetings, for decisions the board itself makesLLR reports quarterly meetings, and state law requires at least four a year; the board heard SPEX waiver requests at its May 2026 meeting, and its 2027 meetings fall in February, May, August, and November.Board-published

The board publishes no processing time for a physician license, and South Carolina law sets no general deadline for deciding one. Your FCVS profile runs on its own clock: FSMB, not the board, says it typically processes an initial application within roughly 35 days and a subsequent one within roughly 20 days or less, depending on how quickly programs verify and you answer its questions. The board sends fingerprint instructions only after it receives your application, and prints submitted earlier are rejected and must be redone. No board guarantees a date.

What the file involves.

A South Carolina file moves between 9 core parties for an MD and 10 for a DO, whose COMLEX-USA scores reach FCVS from NBOME, and 9 core document types, among them the application with a five-year employment history, a notarized lawful presence affidavit, your FCVS profile, a physician profile, and verifications of every license you have held in any medical profession, active or not. Every verification comes from its source, each extra board or training program in your history adds a party, and international graduates add ECFMG. There is no jurisprudence exam.

FSMB, through FCVSVerifies your identity, education, training, exam history, and disciplinary history at the source, as state law requires, with your USMLE transcripts inside the profile.
Your medical schoolVerifies your education through FCVS, and sends transcripts to the board itself if your profile lacks any.
Each postgraduate training programVerifies your training through FCVS.
Every board that has licensed youVerifies each license directly to the board, in any medical profession, active or not.
The AMA or the AOASends the physician profile the board must receive.
NBOME, for DOsSends your COMLEX-USA scores to FCVS.
SLED, South Carolina’s State Law Enforcement DivisionRuns the state criminal history check on your fingerprints.
The FBIRuns the national criminal history check on your fingerprints.
A notaryWitnesses your sworn affidavit of lawful presence in the United States.
The South Carolina Board of Medical ExaminersReviews the file, sends fingerprint instructions once your application arrives, and issues the license.

Postgraduate training: One year of postgraduate residency training the board approves, for graduates of US and Canadian schools, MD or DO; the board may accept ACGME, AOA, or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada training.
International graduates: ECFMG certification or the Fifth Pathway, and three years of progressive training the board approves, or less in listed cases: two and a half years with your program’s certification of good standing, one year after five years of active licensure in another state without significant discipline, or one year plus certification by an ABMS, AOA, or other board-approved specialty board. A board rule also requires international graduates to pass any oral or written exams the board sets, which the board’s 2026 application packages do not mention.
Exam attempts and time limit: USMLE, COMLEX-USA, the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination, or an older exam the law lists. Every step of USMLE, COMLEX-USA, or the Canadian exam must be passed within ten years of the first step you passed. The board must consider your first three attempts at each step, may consider a fourth if you show special and compelling circumstances, and may consider later attempts only if you currently hold specialty certification.
The ten-year rule: You must pass SPEX (MDs) or COMVEX (DOs) unless, within ten years of filing a complete application, you passed a licensing exam the law lists or a specialty certification, recertification, or added-qualification exam from an ABMS, AOA, or other board-approved specialty board, or, with a certification that is not time-limited, completed 150 hours of Category I CME in the past three years, 75% in your specialty. Since March 9, 2026, state law lets the board waive the exam if it finds you have the general medical knowledge to practice competently. There is no other recency test for a first license.
Board certification: Not required for the permanent license, and state law bars making Maintenance of Certification a condition of licensure, though a certification or recertification exam within ten years keeps you clear of SPEX or COMVEX.

We run the South Carolina file.

We do

Check your exam and certification dates against the ten-year rule before the nonrefundable $500 is paid, and raise a waiver request with the board where you need one.
Start or forward your FCVS profile and chase every school, training, and exam verification until it reaches the board.
Prepare the South Carolina application and check every answer against the board’s current instructions before it goes in.
Request the verification from every board that has licensed you, in any medical profession, and your physician profile, and track each one until it reaches the board.
Time your fingerprints to the board’s instructions, answer every board request, and follow the file within its one-year life until the license issues.

You do

Share your credentials and license history once, in our secure portal.
Approve your application answers, sign the attestations, and swear your lawful presence affidavit before a notary.
Have your fingerprints taken once the board’s instructions arrive, and not before.
If you will treat South Carolina residents, name a partner, personal representative, or other responsible party to take charge of your patient records; the application does not accept your own name.

Get My Licensing Plan

Staying licensed.

Renewal cycle: Every two years, by June 30 of odd-numbered years, for every MD and DO: $140, with the current cycle ending June 30, 2027. A lapsed license owes a $100 late fee for each month or part of a month it was lapsed, and practicing while it is lapsed brings a $1,000 penalty for any part of each month of unauthorized practice; late renewal is on paper only, and after a one-year late window the license needs reactivation, $460.
CME: Every two years, one of five options: 40 Category I hours, which the board’s renewal form splits into 30 in your specialty, 8 that may fall outside it, and 2 that must cover prescribing and monitoring controlled substances; specialty recertification or a certificate of added qualifications by exam; a residency or fellowship; SPEX or COMVEX; or a board-approved clinical skills assessment. The form asks every renewer past the first renewal for those 2 controlled substances hours, and nothing is due at the first renewal. Physicians practicing emergency medicine, primary care, internal or family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, or gynecology, hospitalists, and physicians in public health clinics, emergency departments, urgent care centers, or community-based centers also need a one-hour human trafficking course within two years of a first license issued on or after January 1, 2026, then every six years, counting toward the hours.
State controlled-substance registration: Required. Prescribing controlled substances in South Carolina, by telemedicine too, takes a registration from the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Drug Control: $125 for a first registration, not refundable, renewed every year, with every MD and DO registration expiring October 1. A registration not renewed in time is canceled, and reinstating it takes a new application, the fee, and a $100 penalty. You need your South Carolina license first, a separate registration for each location where you store controlled substances, and the same address as your DEA registration; DPH says a new registration takes up to 2 weeks, or up to 3 in its busy months, typically June, July, and August.
Prescription monitoring: Before prescribing a Schedule II controlled substance, you or your delegate must review the patient’s prescription history, and any opioid antidote given, in SCRIPTS, the program DPH’s Bureau of Drug Control runs. Exceptions include hospice patients, a supply of five days or less, and patients in facilities; for an established patient with a chronic condition, a review at least every three months is enough.
DEA registration: $888 for three years, with a separate registration for South Carolina, which needs your South Carolina controlled substances registration first.
E-prescribing: Required for Schedule II to V controlled substances since January 1, 2021, with exceptions such as drugs you dispense directly, orders administered in hospitals and other facilities, documented technology failures, discharges from a hospital, emergency department, or urgent care, and emergency oral authorizations.
Supply limits: A first opioid prescription for acute or postoperative pain may not exceed a seven-day supply, with listed exceptions, and no Schedule II prescription may exceed a 31-day supply.
Telemedicine prescribing: When you practice solely by telemedicine, Schedule II and III narcotics are not permitted except for a patient in a hospital, buprenorphine in a medication-assisted treatment program, palliative care or hospice, or programs the board authorizes.
Reporting duties: Report a change of residential or office address or office phone within 15 business days, and any adverse action against you, including an arrest or indictment, within 30 days.

Renewals, CME tracking, and DEA registrations are managed where included in your plan: physician licensing at NP Licensing.

Frequently asked questions

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Also licensing in these states?

Georgia One board licenses MDs and DOs, directly or through the IMLC, and direct applications now require FCVS and fingerprints.
North Carolina One board licenses MDs and DOs, directly or through the IMLC, which North Carolina joined on January 1, 2026.
California Two boards and no IMLC route: every California license is a direct application.
Texas One board licenses MDs and DOs, by direct application or through the IMLC.
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